When Dwayne Johnson took over the Jumanji franchise and rebooted it with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle he hit box office gold making one of the highest-grossing films of his career. The sequel, The Next Level was also a solid hit, and that sort of success usually spells more sequels, and yet we have yet to see a fourth (or third depending on how you count) Jumanji film. And we know there are no plans for a new film in the series because co-star Madison Iseman hasn’t heard a word.
CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell had the opportunity to speak with Madison Iseman on behalf of the upcoming live-action Knights of the Zodiac film and he asked the actress, who played Bethany, the human counterpart of the video game avatar played by Jack Black in the previous Jumanji films, what she knew about a possible new movie. Unfortunately, she knows nothing at this point, but she’s ready when and if that next movie happens. Iseman explained…
Nothing. If you hear anything, let me know. … And Sony’s on the line, ‘Hey guys…’ I mean, it’s definitely, it would be a dream. That franchise changed my life, and I miss it dearly and everyone who was a part of it. And it’s one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. It’s due to watch it again. I think it’s time. I would love to do another one, any day. They can call me.
Iseman’s role in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was her biggest project to date when she appeared in the film, so it’s not hard to see how the franchise changed her life. She clearly still feels strongly about the films and would like to do more in that world. And there's a possibility that if a new Jumanji movie happened, it would be an even bigger movie for Iseman and her co-stars.
While the non-video game avatar characters have been a smaller part of the previous two movies, the end of Jumanji: The Next Level showed animals from the world of Jumanji escaping into the real world. If a fourth Jumanji film picked up from there we could end up seeing the human characters with bigger roles, rather than simply bookending the story of Dwayne Johnson and company.
There have been some rumblings of a new Jumanji film recently. Kevin Hart has said that he and Dwayne Johnson are talking about what their next project together will be, and that a new Jumanji is one of the possibilities. However, it’s clear from what Hart says that there has been no movement on the franchise, so even if the decision is made to move forward now, it will be at least a couple more years before we see anything from it.
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Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat
CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.
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